Loving the DreamWear except for serious hair matting issue!

I am new to the CPAP world, with my first night on January 19th of this year. The experience has been much more comfortable than I ever anticipated. I adjusted to CPAP after the first night. I love the DreamWear because it is the only mask on the market with the hose attachment at the top of the head, rather than in front of the face. The RT at my DME gave me the Medium frame and didn't let me try on any other frames. It seems to fit okay and I use a medium nasal "pillow" with it.

However, the frame is snug enough to cause a clear demarcated line across the top of my scalp. I have short hair (use a #5 clipper). No matter how much I wet my hair, comb it, use gel, lotion, or blow dry it, the hair remains flattened like trees decimated by a volcano blast. It is quite noticeable and I am not sure if it is healthy for my hair either. I am worried about inducing alopecia with long-term use. Do you think I need the Large frame? I don't have any trouble with leaks. The sides of the Medium frame fall between the eyes and ears, as depicted in the DreamWear ad literature. I have adjusted the straps in the back, but the pressure at the top of my head remains. I can still loop my fingers under the frame and gently lift it a cm above my scalp, but course the frame falls right back down on my hair when I remove my fingers. Any suggestions? Are you fellow DreamWear users experiencing this problem as well?

Fresh_air wrote:I am new to the CPAP world, with my first night on January 19th of this year. The experience has been much more comfortable than I ever anticipated. I adjusted to CPAP after the first night. I love the DreamWear because it is the only mask on the market with the hose attachment at the top of the head, rather than in front of the face.

actually, there are a few other masks that have attachments that aren't in the front, not a lot, but there are some.

Hey Palerider, I would love to learn about these other masks. I am new to the CPAP world, so the DreamWear mask is the only one I have seen so far.

Fresh_air wrote:Hey Palerider, I would love to learn about these other masks. I am new to the CPAP world, so the DreamWear mask is the only one I have seen so far.

scan through the listings of masks at cpap.com, or other online retailer, not being interested in those masks, I don't remember the names of most of them, just that I've seen several that had top of the head attachments. I believe the TAP PAP is one, and there are others.

Hey Palerider, I looked up the TAP PAP. That mask still has the hose attachment in the front of the face. It just directs the hose up over the top of the head.

Anyway, I can only work with one mask for now, the DreamWear. Is anyone else experiencing this issue?

Try wrapping a soft cloth around that top frame. Don't cover the vents though, and see if that helps.

Some people have used soft chemo knit caps under headgear. Not sure if it would work in your situation. http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor ... &hvptwo=&h

Fresh_air wrote:Hey Palerider, I looked up the TAP PAP. That mask still has the hose attachment in the front of the face. It just directs the hose up over the top of the head.

Anyway, I can only work with one mask for now, the DreamWear. Is anyone else experiencing this issue?

you asked where the hose attaches, it attaches at the top of the head... all masks have some sort of air delivery system, usually a hose/tube of some sort that gets the air to the front of the face.

your dreamwear just has two of those, the nasal air II has a tube on either side of the head too, but in neither case does the cpap hose attach to, nor pull on the front of the face, and based on your question, that's what I thought you were looking for. my apologies for misinterpreting your criteria

I didn't like that hair look either. Got a lightweight skull cap at WM...problem solved.

Thanks for the tips guys. I will try a wash cloth tonight and then look for a good skull cap.

Roger, what brand of skullcap did you choose? I didn't see any in the hat/clothing section at the Walmart I visited. I ordered a Halo skullcap from Amazon and it fits way too tight.

Yeah, my hair is a mess most mornings, too. Doesn't bother me, I usually jump in the shower early on, anyway. Hope you find a cap that works for you.

That's the thing though, Lolly. I shower in the morning and my hair still stays flattened out, no matter how much I try to shape it back. I started using a new night cap two nights ago and my hair seems to be getting better. I will update in a week.

Noting the above picture... I've tried using the DreamWear mask but the sides push on my cheeks so badly, and it's so uncomfortable, I've had to go back to my sweet P10.

Anyone have this problem? How did you solve it? I've tried a few things, with no luck. Maybe if this gentleman came with the mask...

frame appears to be too large, instructions say it should fall midway between eyes and ears... that one looks like it's nearly over the ears.. (based on jawline and guessed location of ears)